Controller for a harvester

ABSTRACT

A controller for a harvester. The controller is configured to receive crop flow information representative of how crop is flowing through the harvester and generate display information for providing a visual display to an operator of the harvester. The visual display includes an animation of crop flowing through the harvester. The controller is further configured to set one or more properties of the animation of the crop flowing through the harvester based on the received crop flow information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/835,682, filed Dec. 8, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/166,995, filed May 27, 2016, (now U.S. Pat. No.9,877,427), which claims priority to Belgium Application No. 2015/0149,filed May 29, 2015, each of the contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to controllers for harvesters, such ascombine/forage harvesters, and methods of controlling such harvesters.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Harvesters, such as combine harvesters, are becoming increasinglycomplicated. As additional sensors are added to combine harvesters, itcan be increasingly difficult for an operator to control the harvesterin an optimal way.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect, there is provided a controller for aharvester configured to receive crop flow information representative ofhow crop is flowing through the harvester; generate display informationfor providing a visual display to an operator of the harvester, whereinthe visual display comprises an animation of crop flowing through theharvester; and set one or more properties of the animated crop flowbased on the received crop flow information.

Generating display information for an animation of crop flow in this waycan improve user operability of the harvester. Amongst other things,this can advantageously result in reduced crop losses during operationof the harvester.

The controller may further be configured to receive a machine settingvalue for the harvester. The animation may comprise moving parts of theharvester. The controller may be configured to set one or moreproperties of the moving parts of the harvester and/or animated cropflow based on the received machine setting value.

The controller may be further configured to receivemachine-status-information representative of the status of theharvester. Optionally, the animation may comprise moving parts of theharvester. The controller may be configured to set one or moreproperties of the moving parts of the harvester and/or animated cropflow based on the received machine setting value.

The controller may be configured to set a speed of rotation and/or aspeed of motion of the moving parts of the harvester in the animationbased on the received machine setting values.

The received crop flow information may comprisematerial-flow-rate-information that is representative of a flow rate ofmaterial at a specific point in a crop flow path through the harvester.The visual display may comprise a region of material being associatedwith the specific point in the harvester. The controller may beconfigured to set a flow-rate-property of the region of material basedon the speed-of-material-information.

The received crop flow information may compriseamount-of-material-information that is representative of an amount ofmaterial at a specific point in a crop flow path through the harvester.The visual display may comprise a region of material being associatedwith the specific point in the harvester. The controller may beconfigured to set a size of the region of material based on theamount-of-material-information.

The received crop flow information may comprisematerial-type-information (for example grain, MOG or broken grain) thatis representative of a type of material that is flowing through theharvester. The controller may be configured to set a visual property ofthe crop flowing through the harvester based on thematerial-type-information.

The received crop flow information may compriseejected-material-information (which may be type, speed or amount) thatis representative of material that is ejected by the harvester. Thevisual display may comprise a region of material being ejected by theharvester. The controller may be configured to set a size and/or visualproperty and/or flow-rate-property of the region of material beingejected by the harvester based on the ejected-material-information.

The received crop flow information may comprise air-pressure-informationthat is representative of air pressure at a specific point in a cropflow path through the harvester. The visual display may comprise aregion of material being associated with the specific point in theharvester. The controller may be configured to set a visual property ofthe region of material based on the air-pressure-information.

The air-pressure-information may compriseair-pressure-differential-information across a sieve in the harvester.The visual display may comprise a region of material associated with aside of the sieve. The controller may be configured to set the size ofthe region of material based on theair-pressure-differential-information.

The machine setting value may comprise one or more of ground speed;rotor/threshing speed; concave clearance; fan speed; sieve opening;pre-sieve opening; upper sieve opening; and bottom sieve opening.

The display information may comprise a schematic illustration of a fanwithin the harvester. The controller may be configured to set a speed ofrotation of the fan in the animation based on a machine setting valueassociated with the fan.

The display information may comprise a schematic illustration of a fanwithin the harvester and an arrow representing air flow away from thefan. The controller may be configured to set a visual property of thearrow in the animation based on a machine setting value associated withthe fan.

The display information may comprise a schematic illustration of athreshing cylinder within the harvester. The controller may beconfigured to set a speed of rotation of the threshing cylinder in theanimation based on a machine setting value (for example rotor speed orconcave clearance) associated with the threshing cylinder.

The display information may comprise a schematic illustration of achopper within the harvester. The controller may be configured to set aspeed of rotation of the chopper in the animation based on a machinesetting value associated with the chopper.

The display information may comprises a schematic illustration of asieve within the harvester. The controller may be configured to set anopening size of the sieve in the animation based on a machine settingvalue associated with the sieve.

The machine-status-information may be indicative of whether a componentin the harvester is in a normal-mode-of-operation or afailure-mode-of-operation, and optionally in amaintenance-due-mode-of-operation.

The controller may be further configured to automatically set one ormore machine setting values based on the received crop flow informationin accordance with an automatic control algorithm. The controller may befurther configured to optionally receive an override operation from anoperator; generate feedback information representative of crop flowinformation and/or machine setting values at a time at which theoverride operation was provided; and optionally modify one or moreparameters of the automatic control algorithm.

The controller may be configured to receive measured crop flowinformation; set one or more properties of the animated crop flow basedon the received measured crop flow information; receive aproposed-replacement-machine-setting-value; set simulated crop flowinformation in accordance with theproposed-replacement-machine-setting-values; set one or more propertiesof the animated crop flow based on the simulated crop flow information;and receive user input indicative of an instruction to accept or rejectthe proposed-replacement-machine-setting-values. The controller may befurther configured to, upon receipt of an instruction to accept theproposed-replacement-machine-setting-values, set the machine settingvalues in accordance with theproposed-replacement-machine-setting-values, and set one or moreproperties of the animated crop flow based on measured crop flowinformation. The controller may be further configured to, upon receiptof an instruction to reject theproposed-replacement-machine-setting-values, maintain the machinesetting values in accordance with their previous values; and set one ormore properties of the animated crop flow based on measured crop flowinformation.

According to a further aspect, there is provided a method of controllinga harvester, the method comprising steps of receiving crop flowinformation representative of how crop is flowing through the harvester;generating display information for providing a visual display to anoperator of the harvester, wherein the visual display comprises ananimation of crop flowing through the harvester; and setting one or moreproperties of the animated crop flow based on the received crop flowinformation.

There may be provided a computer program, which when run on a computer,causes the computer to configure any apparatus, including a controller,machine, harvester, or device disclosed herein or perform any methoddisclosed herein. The computer program may be a software implementation,and the computer may be considered as any appropriate hardware,including a digital signal processor, a microcontroller, and animplementation in read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable readonly memory (EPROM), or electronically erasable programmable read onlymemory (EEPROM), as non-limiting examples. The software may be anassembly program.

The computer program may be provided on a computer readable medium,which may be a physical computer readable medium such as a disc or amemory device, or may be embodied as a transient signal. Such atransient signal may be a network download, including an internetdownload.

There may be provided an integrated circuit comprising any controller orapparatus disclosed herein, or configured to perform any methoddisclosed herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For the purpose of illustration, there are shown in the drawings certainembodiments of the present invention. It should be understood, however,that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements,dimensions, and instruments shown. Like numerals indicate like elementsthroughout the drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows schematically a number of modules or components of aharvester, including a controller thereof, in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows an example screenshot of display information that can begenerated by the controller of FIG. 1, in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows another example screenshot of display information that canbe generated by the controller of FIG. 1, in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 4a and 4b show two screenshots of animations that illustratedifferent operating conditions of a combine harvester, in accordancewith an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows a further screenshot of display information that can begenerated by the controller of FIG. 1, in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 shows schematically an example of a method for controlling aharvester, the method performed by the controller of FIG. 1, inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

One or more examples disclosed herein relate to a controller for aharvesting machine, which causes an animation of crop flow through themachine to be displayed to an operator of the machine. One or moreproperties of the animated crop flow can be set based on received cropflow information. For example, the received crop flow information cancomprise measured values of crop losses obtained during use in thefield. These measured crop losses can then be shown visually in theanimation as an area/volume of crop that is being lost by the machine.In this way, user operability of the harvesting machine can be improvedbecause complicated information relating to the harvesting machine canbe made more comprehensible to the user. This can advantageously resultin reduced crop losses during operation of the harvesting machine.

FIG. 1 shows schematically a number of modules or components of aharvester, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. The harvester may be a combine harvester, a forage harvester,or a fruit harvester, such as a grape harvester, as non-limitingexamples. FIG. 1 shows a controller 100, one or more sensors 102,machine controls 104, and a screen 106, all connected together by a databus 110. The one or more sensors 102 are discussed in more detail below,and can include crop flow sensors, moisture sensors, grain cameras, airpressure sensors, and sensors that can be used to determine that acomponent has failed or requires maintenance. At least some of thesensors 102 can provide crop flow information representative of how cropis flowing through the harvester. The machine controls 104 can includevarious controls for operating the harvester, such as a throttle forsetting a ground speed, a control for setting a fan speed, and a controlfor setting the size of a sieve opening. In this way, the machinecontrols 104 can be used to adjust machine setting values of theharvester.

In this example, the controller 100 receives measured crop flowinformation from the one or more sensors 102. The controller 100 canalso receive one or more machine setting values from the one or moresensors 102 and/or the machine controls 104. The controller 100 canprocess the crop flow information, and optionally the machine settingvalues, in order to generate display information for providing a visualdisplay to an operator of the harvester. The visual display can bedisplayed on the screen 106, and can be an animation of crop flowingthrough the harvester. One or more properties of the animated crop flowis set by the controller 100 based on at least the received crop flowinformation. Examples of such properties will be discussed below withreference to the screen shots of FIGS. 2, 3, 4 a and 4 b.

Visually displaying the crop flow information in an animation canadvantageously enable the complicated information relating to theharvester to be more comprehensible to an operator of the harvester. Inmodern harvesters, a great deal of data and information may be displayedto the operator. It can be difficult for the operator to interpret anddetermine how to adjust operation of the harvester based on theinformation. Therefore, using such an animation can improve useroperability of the harvester. For examples in which an operator manuallysets one or more of the machine setting values, an operator can morequickly and accurately change a machine setting in order to improveperformance. This can beneficially result in a reduction of crop losses.

In particular, some parameters can have a “u” or “n” shaped optimizationcharacteristic. For example, rotor losses in a combine harvester can beunacceptably high if a rotor speed is too high or too low. By displayingvarious information in an animation, as discussed herein, an operatorcan more intuitively and quickly determine what change in operatingparameter (such as an increase or decrease in rotor speed) is likely toimprove performance.

Furthermore, the crop flow information that is displayed in theanimation provides an automatically generated visual indication aboutconditions prevailing in the harvester. As will be discussed below,these visual indications of the performance of the harvester can, in atleast some examples, provide information as a prompt for humaninteraction with the harvester, for example to reduce crop losses and/orto be able to identify events that could lead to a malfunction of theharvester.

FIG. 2 shows an example screenshot 200 of display information that canbe generated by the controller 100 and displayed by the screen 106 ofFIG. 1 for presentation to an operator of the harvester as an animation,in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Thescreenshot 200 includes a schematic view of the harvesting machine,which in this example is a 2-dimensional schematic view through thecombine harvester. Shown in FIG. 2 are the following example componentsof the combine harvester.

A threshing cylinder 204, which receives crop from a header (not shown).The threshing cylinder 204 rotates at a rotor speed. In FIG. 2, the cropmoves through the threshing cylinder 204 from left to right. Thethreshing cylinder 204 includes concave grates that are intended toseparate grain from straw, such that the grain can pass through theconcave grates, but the straw cannot. Instead, the straw is moved acrossthe concave grates until is exits the threshing cylinder 204 at a farend. The size of the concave grates can be set so as to define a concaveclearance.

A chopper 208, which receives material (which should be mainly straw)from the far end of the threshing cylinder 204. The chopper 208 chopsthe material it receives, and ejects the chopped material from theharvester. This ejected material is shown with reference 218 in FIG. 2.Any grain that is present in this rotor-ejected material 218 can bereferred to as rotor losses. As represented in FIG. 2, all of, orportions of, this rotor-ejected material 218 can be color coded in orderto indicate the type of material that is present (for example, grain ormaterial-other-than-grain (MOG)).

A grain pan 206, which receives material (which should be mainly grain)from the concave grates of the threshing cylinder 204. The grain pan 206extends along the length of the threshing cylinder 204, and is movedsuch that it steps material along the grain pan 206 from left to rightas it is shown in FIG. 2, until it falls off a far end of the grain pan206.

A pre-sieve 212, an upper surface of which receives material from thefar end of the grain pan 206. The pre-sieve is made up of fingers, whichcan be rotated in order to define a pre-sieve opening value. Thepre-sieve opening value is set such that a desired amount of air can beblown upwardly through the pre-sieve 212 by a fan 210, in order to blowMOG away from the pre-sieve 212, yet allow grain to fall through thepre-sieve 212. In this way, the pre-sieve performs a cleaning operation.The size of the opening of the pre-sieve 212 as it is shown in theanimation can be set based on an associate machine setting value.

A fan 210, that blows air through the pre-sieve 212, and also blows airthrough an upper sieve 214 and a bottom sieve 216. A fan speed of thefan 210 can be controlled as a machine setting.

An upper sieve 214, an upper surface of which receives material that hasnot passed through the pre-sieve 212. The upper sieve 214 has an uppersieve opening value, which is a similar parameter to the pre-sieveopening value. Material that is blown away from the top surface of theupper sieve 214 is ejected from the combine harvester, and is shown withreference 220 in FIG. 2. Any grain that is present in this sieve-ejectedmaterial 220 can be referred to as sieve losses.

A bottom sieve 216, an upper surface of which receives material that haspassed through the pre-sieve 212 or the upper sieve 214. The bottomsieve 216 has a bottom sieve opening value, which is a similar parameterto the pre-sieve opening value. Material that passes through the bottomsieve 216 (which should be mainly grain) is collected and passed to agrain auger 209, which in turn transports the grain to a grain tank (notshown). Material that is blown away from the top surface of the bottomsieve 216 is collected and passed to a re-cleaning auger 224 fortransferring back to an earlier stage in the cleaning process forreprocessing. The amount of material collected in the re-cleaning auger224 can be referred to as “returns”.

The screenshot 200 also illustrates graphically the following machinesettings of the machine controls 104, which are identified withreferences 202 a and 202 b in FIG. 2. Each of the machine settings canbe set to a number between 1 and 5. Also, the actual values for some ofthe machine settings are shown in the schematic of the combineharvester, alongside the associated component. These exemplary machinesettings are:

-   -   Ground speed (7 km/h in this example).    -   Rotor speed (900 rpm).    -   Concave clearance.    -   Fan speed (900 rpm).    -   Pre-sieve opening (10 mm).    -   Upper sieve opening (12 mm).    -   Bottom sieve opening (8 mm).

As will be discussed below, these machine setting values 202 a, 202 bcan be set manually by a user, or can be set automatically by acontroller, such as the controller 100.

The screenshot 200 also illustrates graphically, as bar charts, variouscrop flow information, which are identified with reference 222 in FIG.2. This crop flow information can be measurement values returned by cropflow sensors 102 in the material flow path through the combineharvester. Each of the bar charts has a marker that represents atransition between acceptable and unacceptable performance. In FIG. 2,the bar charts show that each value of crop flow information is at anacceptable level. In FIG. 2, the crop flow information shown is:

-   -   Rotor losses.    -   Returns (the amount of material transferred by the re-cleaning        auger 224).    -   Broken grain, collected by the grain auger 209.    -   Material other than grain (MOG).    -   Sieve losses.    -   Engine load.

The animation can show: schematic illustrations of parts of the combineharvester that move; or material that moves during operation, as movingin a corresponding way in the animation. This can include: any partsthat rotate during use as rotating in the animation (for example, thethreshing cylinder 204, the chopper 208, the fan 210, etc.); andgrain/straw that is moved during use as being in motion (for example,the rotor-ejected material 218 as it is ejected from the rotor 208, thesieve-ejected material 220 is it is ejected from the upper sieve 214.etc.). The animation can also show schematically parts of the harvesterthat move or are stationary during use, such as the sieves 212, 214,216, the grain pan 206, and the concave grates. The speed of rotationand/or motion in the animation can be set based on crop flow informationand/or machine setting values, as appropriate.

Also, the way in which the animation is displayed can be based onmachine-status-information. The machine-status-information can berepresentative of the status of the machine, which may be the machine asa whole, or one or more components of the machine. For example, themachine-status-information can include information that is indicative ofwhether one or more specific components (such as the rotor 208, thethreshing cylinder 204, the chopper 208, etc.) in the combine harvesteris in one or more of a normal-mode-of-operation, afailure-mode-of-operation, or a maintenance-due-mode-of-operation.

The crop flow information represented by FIG. 2 can be measured by thefollowing example sensors 102, or determined from measurements made bythe following sensors 102.

Crop flow sensors for measuring an amount of material passing thesensor, for example in tonnes per hour. This type of sensor can be usedto measure the rotor-ejected material 218, sieve-ejected material 220,material that passes through the concave grates of the threshingcylinder 204, material that passes through one or more of the sieves212, 214, 216, material entering the grain auger 209, material enteringthe re-cleaning auger 210, material being transported to a grain tank(not shown), etc. A crop flow sensor can providematerial-flow-rate-information.

Material-type sensors can be used to measure a type of material passingthe sensor. Such a sensor can be implemented as an impact sensor or agrain camera, for example. This type of sensor can be used in the samelocations as mentioned above for crop flow sensors, and can distinguishbetween grain, MOG and broken grain. A material-type sensor can providematerial-type-information.

Mass sensors can be used to measure a mass of grain or other material,for example a mass of grain that is passed to the grain auger 209 or there-cleaning auger 224. A mass sensor can provideamount-of-material-information.

Distance sensors can be used to measure the size of opening andclearances in the crop flow path, for example the concave clearance andthe size of the openings of the sieves 212, 214, 216.

Feed rate sensors can be used to measure the amount of material that isbeing fed into the combine harvester.

Moisture sensors can be used to measure a moisture level associated withmaterial in the crop flow path, and providematerial-moisture-information. For example, a moisture level of grainthat is collected by the grain auger 209 can be measured by such asensor.

Rotation speed sensors, can be used to measure the speed of anycomponent that rotates, including rotors associated with the threshingcylinder 204, and the fan 210. This type of sensor can also be referredto as an RPM (revolutions per minute) sensor.

Grain cameras (which may be referred to as grain cams) can be used tocapture images of material as it passes through the combine harvester.For example, a grain cam may be used to capture images as material istransferred from the grain auger 209 to a grain tank (not shown). Suchimages can be used to determine different types of material, andmaterial flow rates, for example.

Air pressure sensors can be used to measure air pressure at variouspoints in the crop flow path through the combine harvester and providethese measurements as air-pressure-information. In some examples,differential air pressure sensors can be used. A differential airpressure sensor can have a first inlet and a second inlet, which can belocated either side of one of the sieves 212, 214, 216, for example. Inthis way, air-pressure-differential-information across the sieve 212,214, 216 can be determined.

Any of the above sensors that is associated with a region of the cropflow path that ejects material from the combine harvester can beconsidered as providing ejected-material-information.

Machine-status-information of the combine harvester can be measured bythe following example sensors 102, or determined from measurements madeby the following sensors 102:

-   -   Sensors detecting the rotational speed of rotating elements like        (but not limited to) threshing rotors, chopper and/or spreader        units, grain elevators, grain augers, feeder drive system, sieve        and grain pan drives, etc. Unexpected slowing down of such        elements may indicate the onset of a technical problem. In a        simpler version, instead of measuring a speed, such sensors may        only detect whether or not the element is moving/rotating.    -   Temperature sensors indicating when there is a cooling problem        somewhere in the machine.    -   Sensors indicating that a door is open when it should be closed.    -   Internal counters may be used for indicating when certain        elements are due for maintenance. For example, a number of        active hours or a total weight of crop material processed by a        certain element may be an indication that maintenance is due.        More complex algorithms may also take into account additional        information like applied force, operating speed or temperature        and humidity when active.

As indicated above, one or more properties of the animated crop flowand/or components of the combine harvester can be set based on the cropflow information and/or machine setting values and/ormachine-status-information. Examples of which will be discussed below.

The size of the rotor-ejected material 218 and/or the sieve-ejectedmaterial 220 can be set based on amount-of-material-information, forexample as provided by a crop flow sensor. The “size” of any materialdisclosed herein can include an area, a height, a layer thickness, avolume (or a cross-section thereof) and/or a density of material flow.

A flow-rate-property can be set based on material-flow-rate-information,for example as provided by a crop flow sensor. For example, a visualproperty can be set by adjusting a speed of motion of pixels through aregion of material. The region of material may be associated with aspecific point in the harvester, for example the rotor-ejected material218 associated with the chopper 208 and/or the sieve-ejected material220 associated with the upper sieve 214.

A visual property, such as the color/appearance, of the rotor-ejectedmaterial 218 and/or the sieve-ejected material 220 can be set based onone or more measurements taken by a material-type sensor/graincam/moisture sensor. These measurements can includematerial-type-information, material-flow-rate-information, andmaterial-moisture-information. For instance, grain can be displayed witha first color, and MOG can be displayed with a second, different color.In one example, if 90% of the material is determined to be grain, and10% is MOG, then 90% of the area of the rotor-ejected material 218 canbe displayed in the first color and 10% can be displayed in the secondcolor. Also, a color of the material, or a pattern that is shown in theanimation, can be set based on a measured moisture level of thematerial.

The size of a region material displayed on top of a sieve can be setbased on a measured air pressure differential across the sieve, forexample provided as air-pressure-information and/orair-pressure-differential-information, as provided by an air pressuresensor.

Air-flow arrows can be shown leaving the fan 210, and/or on either sideof one or more of the sieves. The appearance of these arrows (forexample, the length and thickness) can be set based on measurementsrecorded by an RPM sensor associated with the fan 210, and/or airflow/pressure sensors associated with the sieves 212, 214, 216. Also,the appearance of these arrows can be set based onmachine-status-information. For example, if themachine-status-information is indicative of a fault with the fan 210then the arrows may be removed from the animation altogether, or theymay be illustrated with a specific color or appearance.

The amount of material shown in the grain auger 209 and/or there-cleaning auger 224 can be set based on measurements taken by cropflow sensors and/or mass sensors.

A visual property, such as the color/appearance, of the material in thegrain auger 209 and/or the re-cleaning auger 224 can be set based onmeasurements taken by a material-type sensor/grain cam/moisture sensor.

A visual property, such as the color/appearance, of material at anystage in the crop flow through the combine harvester can be set based onmeasurements taken by a material-type sensor/grain cam/moisture sensor.In addition to the examples discussed above, any stage in the crop flowcan include the material between the threshing cylinder 204 and thegrain pan 206, the material passing through a sieve 212, 214, 216, andmaterial that is blown away from an upper surface of a sieve 212, 214,216.

The speed at which the fan 210, chopper 208 and/or threshing cylinder204 rotate in the animation can be set based on a measurement taken by aRPM sensor, or can be based on associated machine setting values. Also,the speed at which these components rotate in the animation can be setbased on machine-status-information. For example, if themachine-status-information is indicative of a fault with a particularcomponent, then that component may be shown in the animation asstationary, or may be illustrated with a specific color or appearance.

The openings in the sieves, 212, 214, 216, as they are shown in theanimation, can be set based on associated machine setting values and/ormeasurements taken by a distance sensor.

An amount of material, or any other visual property of the material,flowing through one or more of the sieves 212, 214, 216, as it is shownin the animation, can be set based on associated machine setting valuesand/or measurements taken by a crop flow sensor, material-type sensor,mass sensor, or air pressure sensor.

The amount of material shown entering the threshing cylinder 204 can bebased on measurements taken by a feed rate sensor.

A video display of images captured by a grain cam can be shown in theanimation at a location relative to the schematic illustration of thecombine harvester that corresponds to the point in the crop flow atwhich the images were recorded, for example in the vicinity of the graintank where there is less dust.

A visual property, such as the color/appearance, of any component in thecombine harvester can be set based on the machine-status-information.For example, if the machine-status-information is indicative of a faultwith a particular component, then that component may be shown in theanimation as stationary and/or may be illustrated with a specificappearance or color (such as the color red to draw attention to it). Ifthe component is not visible in the animation, for example because a 3Drepresentation of the combine harvester is being displayed and thecomponent is obscured, then a viewing angle of the combine harvester canbe set based on the machine-status-information such that the componentis visible in the animation. This can be considered as providingauto-rotate functionality based on the machine-status-information

One or more of the properties of the crop flow described above(including the size of the rotor-ejected material 218, flow rateproperties, etc.) can also be set based on themachine-status-information. For example, if themachine-status-information indicates that a specific component is in afailure-mode-of-operation, then a visual property of a region of cropeither immediately before or immediately after the component can be setbased on the machine-status-information. Display of such a visualproperty may be in addition to any measured changes in crop flow from anappropriate crop flow sensor.

The size of a component in the animation can be set based on themachine-status-information. For example, if themachine-status-information indicates that a specific component is in afailure-mode-of-operation, then the size of that component in theanimation can be increased. This can involve zooming in on the entireimage to enlarge the component, or can involve increasing the size ofthe component in question without increasing the size of the othercomponents. This can be considered as providing auto-zoom functionalitybased on the machine-status-information.

FIG. 3 shows another example screenshot 300 of display information thatcan be generated by the controller 100 and displayed by the screen 106of FIG. 1, which is displayed to the user as an animation, in accordancewith an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. When comparedwith FIG. 2, in FIG. 3 the ground speed is slower (6 km/h, instead of 7km/h); the fan speed is slower (650 rpm, instead of 900 rpm); thepre-sieve opening is smaller (6 mm, instead of 10 mm); the upper sieveopening is smaller (10 mm, instead of 12 mm); and the bottom sieveopening is smaller (4 mm, instead of 8 mm).

The screenshot 300 of FIG. 3 also illustrates graphically, as barcharts, the same types of crop flow information that are shown in FIG.2. This information is identified with reference 322. In FIG. 3, the barcharts show that each value of crop flow information is at anunacceptable level. The unacceptable crop levels in FIG. 3 can beillustrated in the animation as follows:

-   -   Rotor losses: a large area of grain-colored material in the        rotor-ejected material 318 being ejected by the chopper 308. The        unacceptably high rotor losses can also be shown by setting the        color and/or pattern of the rotor-ejected material 318, and/or a        speed of material moving through the rotor-ejected material 318.    -   Returns: a large area of grain-colored material in the        re-cleaning auger 324.    -   Broken grain: a large area of a certain color of material in the        grain auger 309. For example a relatively high proportion of        material in a color that is associated with broken grain (not        shown in FIG. 3).    -   MOG: a large area of a certain color of material in the grain        auger 309. For example a relatively high proportion of material        in a color that is associated with MOG (not shown in FIG. 3).    -   Sieve losses: a large area of grain-colored material in the        sieve-ejected material 320 being ejected from the upper sieve        314.

FIGS. 4a and 4b show two screenshots of animations that illustratedifferent operating conditions of a combine harvester, in accordancewith an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Features of FIGS.4a and 4b that have already been described with reference to FIG. 2 orFIG. 3 will not necessarily be described again here.

In FIG. 4a , the speed of the fan 410 a is set at a maximum value, whichcauses high grain losses in the sieve-ejected material 420 a. Air flowarrows 411 a are shown leaving the fan 410 a with thick lines, in orderto show this high fan speed. The high grain losses are illustrated inFIG. 4a by a large area of grain-colored material in the sieve-ejectedmaterial 420 a. In FIG. 4a , the total area of the sieve-ejectedmaterial 420 a is also large, which can be set by the controller basedon a determined value for the air pressure difference across the uppersieve 414 a, for example. The sieve losses in FIG. 4a can be referred toas “blow out losses,” because the fan speed is too high.

In FIG. 4b , the speed of the fan 410 b is set at a minimum value,whilst the other machine settings are the same as for the screenshot ofFIG. 4a . Air flow arrows 411 b are shown leaving the fan 410 a withthin lines, in order to show this low fan speed. The high grain lossesare again present in the sieve-ejected material 420 b. This isillustrated in FIG. 4b by a large area of grain-colored material in thesieve-ejected material 420 b. However, in contrast to FIG. 4a , thetotal area of the sieve-ejected material 420 b in FIG. 4b is relativelysmall. This means that the proportion of grain in the sieve-ejectedmaterial 420 b is larger in FIG. 4b . The sieve losses in FIG. 4b can bereferred to as “sieve off losses”, because the fan speed is too low.

It will be appreciated from the example of FIGS. 4a and 4b , that theuse of the animated display can enable an operator to more readilyappreciate a reason for sub-optimal performance (such as high sievelosses), and therefore the operator can more quickly and efficientlyadjust one or more machine settings of one or more respective machinecontrols 104 in an appropriate way to improve performance. The effect ofthe fan speed machine setting on the sieve losses crop flow informationis an example of a “u” or “n” shaped optimization characteristicinasmuch as performance is sub-optimal if the fan speed is too high ortoo low.

In addition to causing an animation to be displayed to an operator, insome examples the controller 100 of FIG. 1 can also automaticallycontrol/set one or more machine setting values of one or more respectivemachine controls 104 based on received crop flow information from arespective sensor 102 in accordance with an automatic control algorithm.For example, the controller 100 can process the crop flow informationand automatically determine one or morereplacement-machine-setting-values. Thereplacement-machine-setting-values may, or may not, be different tocurrent machine setting values of machine controls 104.

Advantageously, use of this automatic control in combination with theanimated display on the screen 106 can enable an operator to determinewhen to provide an override operation. Such an override operation can beprovided by an operator when the automatic control appears to besub-optimal. In this way, the operator can override the automaticcontrol of machine controls 104 in the expectation of achieving improvedperformance. The override operation can be an instruction to increase ordecrease a machine setting value of a respective machine control 104,for example.

Also, the controller 100 can optionally generate feedback informationfor improving an automatic control algorithm based on an operator'sinput, for example to override the automatic control. This feedbackinformation may comprise details of the crop flow information and/ormachine setting values at a time at which an operator provides anoverride operation, and also optionally details of the overrideoperation. Such details of the override operation can include whichmachine setting was changed, and how it was changed (for example whetherit was increased or decreased). This feedback information can beautomatically used by the controller to modify one or more parameters ofan automatic control algorithm. It will thus be appreciated that evenwhen manual control of the harvester is not being used, an improvedunderstanding of what is happening inside the harvester can beconsidered a significant advantage and can result in better overallcontrol of the machine.

It will be appreciated that any of the examples disclosed herein can beused to provide real-time feedback to an operator of a harvester whilstthey in the field, in which case the crop flow information is receivedfrom one or more sensors 102. Also, the controller 100 can be used aspart of a simulation tool, for example to provide training for operatorsof combine harvesters. In which case, computer software can generatesimulated crop flow information for the controller based on machinesetting values that have been entered by a user, and properties of theanimation can then be set based on the simulated crop flow information.

Advantageously, use of an animated crop flow through a harvester as asimulation tool can provide a better overview of what is going on. Asingle movie can be used for training operators (optionally offline) andin a way that they will very rapidly understand what is going on intheir harvester, without a need to be able to interpret many, forexample more than ten, sensor values and graphs.

FIG. 5 shows a further screenshot 500 of display information that can begenerated by the controller 100 of FIG. 1, and shown to an operator ofthe harvester in the screen 106 as an animation, in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention. In this example, a3-dimensional schematic view through the combine harvester is shown. Inaddition to the components of the combine harvester that are shown inFIGS. 2, 3, 4 a, and 4 b, a header 530 of the combine harvester is shownin FIG. 5. One or more properties of the header 530 and/or crop flowingthrough the header 530 as it is displayed in the animation, can be setbased on received crop flow information and/or machine setting values.

In FIG. 5, a machine-setting-panel 532 displays machine settings of themachine controls 104, with associated sliders for setting their values.In one example, use of these sliders can be particularly convenient whenthe animation used as a simulation tool. In some examples, especiallyexamples that display an animation that is based on measured crop flowinformation provided by the sensors 102 as opposed to simulated cropflow information, the machine-setting-panel 532 may not be displayed toa user on the same display screen as the animation.

FIG. 6 shows schematically an example of a method for controlling aharvester, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. The method may be performed by hardware and/or softwareassociated with the harvester, such as by the controller 100, orremotely from a harvester for simulating operation of a harvester. Atstep 602, the method includes receiving crop flow informationrepresentative of how crop is flowing through the harvester. Asdiscussed above, this crop flow information may be received from thesensors 102 associated with the harvester whilst it is in use in thefield. Alternatively, the crop flow information may be generated bysoftware when the method is used as a simulation tool. In addition toreceiving the crop flow information, optionally, the method may comprisereceiving machine setting values from the machine controls 104 at step604.

At step 606, the method comprises generating display information forproviding a visual display in the screen 106 to an operator of theharvester. The visual display comprises an animation of crop flowingthrough the harvester. One or more properties of the animated crop flowis set based on the received crop flow information, and the machinesetting values if they have been received. Examples of how this step canbe performed are discussed in detail above. In an exemplary embodiment,the controller 100 generates the display information in the step 606.Then, at step 608, the animation is displayed in the screen 106 to theoperator of the harvester. In an exemplary embodiment, the controller100 provides the animation to the screen 106 for display therein.

The animations disclosed herein can be used to show real-timeinformation, or can be used for simulation purposes. In addition theanimations can be used as part of a hybrid system that includes bothmeasured (real-time) crop flow information and simulated crop flowinformation. In such a system real time information can initially bedisplayed. In this way, one or more properties of an animated crop flowcan be set based on measured crop flow information. A user can thenselect a proposed-replacement-machine-setting-value. Additionally oralternatively, a proposed-replacement-machine-setting-value can beautomatically suggested by the controller 100. In the hybrid system, thecontroller 100 may not immediately adjust the physical components of theharvester in line with the proposed-replacement-machine-setting-values.Instead, the controller 100 may set simulated crop flow information inaccordance with the proposed-replacement-machine-setting-values. Thatis, the controller 100 can perform a simulation algorithm to determinethe simulated crop flow information such that the likely effect on thecrop flow of the proposed-replacement-machine-setting-values can bedisplayed.

The controller 100 can then set one or more properties of the animatedcrop flow based on the simulated crop flow information such that ananimated crop flow can be displayed on the screen 106 based on thesimulated crop flow information. The simulated properties of theanimated crop flow that are set in this way may be displayed with visualcharacteristics that are different to properties based on measured cropflow information. For example, a simulated crop flow animation may be adifferent color to a measured crop flow animation. In this way, a usercan easily distinguish between animations based on measured andsimulated information.

After the controller 100 has caused a simulated crop flow animation tobe displayed in the screen 106, it may be configured to receive userinput indicative of an instruction to accept or reject theproposed-replacement-machine-setting-values of the machine controls 104.Upon receipt of an instruction to accept theproposed-replacement-machine-setting-values, the controller 100 can setthe machine setting values of the machine controls 104 in accordancewith the proposed-replacement-machine-setting-values (thereby adjustingthe settings of physical components of the harvester), and can return todisplaying animated crop flow in the screen 106 based on measured cropflow information from the sensors 102. Alternatively, upon receipt of aninstruction to reject the proposed-replacement-machine-setting-values,the controller 100 can maintain the machine setting values of themachine controls 104 in accordance with their previous values, andreturn to displaying animated crop flow based on measured crop flowinformation from the sensors 102. Advantageously, in this example theuser is provided with an opportunity review the likely effect ofchanging a machine setting value in a particular way, before actuallychanging a machine setting of the harvester.

Examples disclosed herein relate to showing an operator of a harvestermachine a simplified but clear animation of the actual process insidethe harvester, so that they can better understand what is happening.This can be easier to interpret than showing only individual sensingparameters to the operator. It has been found that individual readings,such as the following, can be difficult for an operator to follow:sensors to measure loss, engine load, settings etc.; readings inrelation to automation; and also cleaning system load, broken grain,etc. If too much data is shown to the operator in this way, it can beeasy to overlook sub-optimal performance and not notice high losses. Itcan be a lot clearer to the operator if the actual crop flow is shownthrough an animation on the screen of the harvester, which shows how thecrop is flowing and where overloads and losses are occurring. That is, amovie of an animation can be played, in which the content isrepresentative of (i) the actual process (crop flow) inside theharvester, in combination with (ii) the actual settings of theharvester, for example, settings relating to the concave, rotor, sieves,fan. Also, especially for combine automation, it can be clearer to seewhat the system is doing and why.

On the screen 106, the operator can see an animation or representationof the harvester, such as a cross section in 2D or 3D of the harvester.When he or she engages the various elements of the harvester, theoperator can actually see the rotor turning, sieves moving etc. When thecrop enters the harvester, the crop can be shown in the animation,including the flows of collected and lost grains. The magnitude of theflows that are shown in the animation can be proportional to the actualvalues measured by different sensors 102 inside the harvester.

Examples disclosed herein can provide feedback to an operator in such away that information relating to operating conditions of the harvestercan be interpreted more accurately by the operator. In this way, theoperator can be provided with accurate information about the crop flowthrough the harvester such that any mismatch between what the operatorsees and what is actually taking place can be reduced.

Examples disclosed herein can display, not only the layout of componentsof the combine harvester and their settings, but also indications ofwhat happens with the crop inside machine based on live data.Optionally, cameras can also be installed within the harvester, and thecaptured images can be displayed in combination with the animation. Insome examples the captured images can be displayed at a region of theschematic drawing of the harvester that corresponds to the position ofthe camera in the harvester. However, in combine harvesters, the processcan be too dusty at various points in the crop flow path to use cameras.In which case, the examples disclosed herein of displaying an animationthat is based on actual sensor data can be particularly advantageous.

Furthermore, in examples that set a property of the animation based onmachine-status-information, the user can quickly and clearly understandthe nature and severity of a failure. This can be because the animationcan provide a practical representation of a problem, and also how it isaffecting crop flow through the machine. Therefore, displaying thismachine-status-information in an animation can enable the machine tobetter maintained, and can enable harvesting to be performed moreefficiently and effectively with potentially less downtime of themachine when a failure occurs. In contrast, if suchmachine-status-information were displayed to a user in textual form, forexample by a pop-up text box, then the user may be less likely and lessable to react to a failure in a timely and appropriate way.

These and other advantages of the present invention will be apparent tothose skilled in the art from the foregoing specification. Accordingly,it is to be recognized by those skilled in the art that changes ormodifications may be made to the above-described embodiments withoutdeparting from the broad inventive concepts of the invention. It is tobe understood that this invention is not limited to the particularembodiments described herein, but is intended to include all changes andmodifications that are within the scope and spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A controller for a harvester configured to:receive from at least one of a plurality of sensors of the harvestercrop flow information representative of how crop is flowing through theharvester, the plurality of sensors including: a mass sensor configuredto measure a mass of grain or other material to provideamount-of-material information; a material-type sensor configured todetermine material-type-information representative of a type of materialthat is flowing through the harvester, the controller being configuredto set a visual property of the crop flowing through the harvester basedon the material-type-information, wherein the material-type-informationincludes broken grain or material other than grain (MOG); a grain camerapositioned on the harvester and coupled to the controller to capture inreal time an image of crop material as it passes through the harvester;a rotation speed (RPM) sensor configured to measure a speed of acomponent of the harvester that rotates; provide at least three optionsfor setting at least one machine setting value from a plurality ofmachine setting values of the harvester, the at least three optionsincluding (a) receiving the at least one machine setting value from atleast one of a plurality of machine controls of the harvester, (b)setting automatically by the controller the at least one of the machinesetting values, and (c) receiving an override operation to overrideautomatic operation of the harvester; set a speed of rotation and/or aspeed of motion of the component that rotates; receive a correspondingoutput from each of the plurality of sensors indicative of a sensedparameter relating to a function of the harvester; cause to be displayedon a screen in the harvester in real time as the harvester is undergoinga harvesting operation a plurality of visual representations on one ormore visual displays on the screen, the visual representationsincluding: the visual property of the crop flowing through the harvesterbased on the material-type-information; a graphical representation ofthe amount-of-material information determined using the mass sensor; acaptured image from the grain camera of the crop material passingthrough the harvester to determine different types of material presentin the crop material; a schematic illustration of the harvesterincluding parts involved in moving the crop through the harvester;graphical content representative of at least some of a plurality ofsettings related to one or more parts of the harvester involved in cropflow through the harvester; and automatically adjust without manualintervention the at least one of the machine setting values based on atleast one of the outputs in accordance with an automatic controlalgorithm.
 2. The controller of claim 1, being further configured toprompt an operator of the harvester to interact with the harvester toreduce crop losses and/or to identify an event that could lead to amalfunction of the harvester based on the automatic control algorithm.3. The controller of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors includesany combination of one or more of the following: a crop flow sensor, amoisture sensor, an air pressure sensor, a sensor configured to be usedto detect that a component of the harvester has failed or requiresmaintenance, a distance sensor, a feed rate sensor, a rotation speedsensor, and a sensor configured to measure a status of the harvester;and wherein the machine setting values include any combination of one ofmore of the following: ground speed of the harvester, rotor speed,concave clearance, speed of the fan, pre-sieve opening, upper sieveopening, and bottom sieve opening.
 4. The controller of claim 1, whereinthe captured images are displayed as an animation of crop flowingthrough the harvester on the screen.
 5. The controller of claim 1,wherein the displaying the animation of the crop flowing through theharvester results in reduced crop losses during operation of theharvester.
 6. The controller of claim 1, being further configured to:cause an animation of the moving part of the harvester to be displayedon the screen; and set one or more properties of the moving part of theharvester and/or animated crop flow based on at least one of thereceived machine setting values.
 7. The controller of claim 6, beingfurther configured to set one or more properties of the moving part ofthe harvester and the animated crop flow based on at least one of thereceived machine setting values.
 8. The controller of claim 1, beingfurther configured to set a flow rate property of material flowingthrough the harvester along a crop flow path based on an output from atleast one of the plurality of sensors.
 9. The controller of claim 8,being further configured to cause a region of material associated with aspecific point along the crop flow path to be visually displayed on thescreen.
 10. The controller of claim 1, being further configured to causea schematic illustration of the fan on the screen.
 11. The controller ofclaim 10, wherein the schematic illustration is an amination of a speedof rotation of the fan.
 12. The controller of claim 11, being furtherconfigured to set the speed of rotation of the fan in the animationbased on one of the machine setting values that is associated with thefan.
 13. The controller of claim 1, being further configured to cause atwo-dimensional schematic view through the harvester includingcomponents of the harvester.
 14. The controller of claim 13, thecomponents including any one or more of the following: a threshingcylinder, a chopper, the pan, a pre-sieve, the fan, an upper sieve, anda bottom sieve.
 15. The controller of claim 1, being further configuredto cause information relating to the harvester or its operation to bevisually displayed on the screen, the information including a bar chart.16. The controller of claim 1, wherein the crop flow informationincludes any one or more of the following: rotor losses, returnsrepresenting an amount of material transferred by a re-cleaning auger ofthe harvester, broken grain, material other than grain (MOG), sievelosses, and engine load.
 17. The controller of claim 1, being furtherconfigured to cause information on the screen as an animation, theanimation including any one or more of the following: a schematicillustration of a part or parts of the harvester that move, materialthat moves during operation of the harvester as moving in acorresponding way in the animation, any parts that rotate during use asrotating in the animation, and a schematic illustration of parts of theharvester that move or are stationary during use.
 18. The controller ofclaim 1, being configured to generate feedback information for improvingthe automatic control algorithm based on an input of an operator of theharvester.
 19. The controller of claim 18, the input of the operatorincluding an input to override the automatic control using an overrideoperation.
 20. The controller of claim 19, the feedback informationincluding details of the crop flow information and/or machine settingvalues at a time at which the operator provides the override operation.21. The controller of claim 20, the feedback information includingdetails of the override operation, including any one or more of thefollowing: which machine setting was changed, how it was changedincluding whether the value was increased or decreased.
 22. Thecontroller of claim 21, being further configured to use the feedbackinformation to automatically modify one or more parameters of theautomatic control algorithm.
 23. The controller of claim 1, beingfurther configured to cause information relating to the harvester or itsoperation to be visually displayed on the screen to provide real-timefeedback to an operator of the harvester during operation.
 24. Aharvester including the controller of claim 1, the harvester comprising:the plurality of sensors; the plurality of machine controls configuredto adjust at least some of the machine setting values of the harvester;a screen providing a visual display of information; a threshing cylinderconfigured to receive crop from a header; and a fan positioned tofacilitate separation of the material into material to be ejected andmaterial to be collected in a pan.